“It was replaced four years ago. I don't think we’ll have a problem with it. Besides, the snow usually slides off it because it’s so steep, especially this time of year.”
He nodded. “In that case, it’s probably best you steer clear of the sides of the cabin until it does. Heavy snow in motion is not something you want to be near.”
Nash disappeared outside for a few minutes. Harper took those minutes to ease herself up from the sofa and test how steady she was on her feet. She stood and felt stable, but her whole body felt stiff. A hot bath might be just what she needed to get out the kinks. Until the solar system was running, the only hot water they’d have would be from whatever they boiled.
She thought about her grandmother and knew she was probably frantic by now. Harper hated the idea of her being alone in this storm.
The door swung open again and Nash carried in the two pots now filled with snow. He shut the door with his foot.
“This will get you started. It may take a while to get enough for a bath though. But you may get enough for a sponge bath. I can get more when I get back.”
She’d been rubbing her hands in front of the wood stove, but she stopped and turned to him. “When you get back? Where are you going?”
“To your car. I’m going to see if I can retrieve those blankets. The temperature is dropping and I don’t have enough wood to keep the cabin warm even if I keep adding wood all night. The wet wood will dry out eventually, but it won’t burn hot. By morning this cabin will be like a freezer.”
“But it’s bad outside. My car is so far down the hill that you might…”
He glanced at her and waited for her to finish her thought. But she didn’t. She couldn’t. It meant explaining to him her fears.
“I’m only going to be gone for about an hour or so,” Nash said. “It will go much faster for me because I’m alone.”
“Do you really need to go? I mean, you said you had a few things here. We can make do. I’ll sleep right here by the fire.”
He shook his head. “Both of us will sleep out here. Unless you want to share the sleeping bag with me, it makes sense for me to make the trek out to your car and get those blankets so we both have a good night’s sleep. It’s going to take some work to dig us out if you want to get home when this storm ends tomorrow. If it ends tomorrow.”
“You don’t think it will? My grandmother has never been alone like this.”
“That depends on whether or not the storm stalled over the mountain. Let’s not worry about that or your grandmother just yet. I’m sure a neighbor will come by and check on her. She knows where you are, so someone will come looking for you up here when the storm passes.”
“I didn’t tell her.”
His expression fell. “You must have told someone you were coming up here.”
She sighed. “I told my grandmother I was going to run some errands after work. That was it. I figured it would take me no time at all to drop off the linens and then head home. She doesn’t know I came here. No one at work knows either.”
“If people don't know you’re here, then it might be a while before you get home. Even after the storm ends.”
Her stomach sank. “My grandmother must be a wreck by now. She must think the worst.”
“Your grandmother has difficulty walking?”
“She can get around some. But she's at that age where she's not very steady on her feet. And she doesn't walk well so she spends time with a walker or in a wheelchair which she absolutely hates. Around the house, she likes to use the walker or just hold onto the wall or the counters. I've seen how unsteady she is, but she insists that she doesn't do that while I'm at work.”
“That must be a worry.”
“It is. But we do have neighbors that aren’t too far away who check in from time to time. I’m sure she probably called her friend Lucy when I didn’t come home as planned. Oh, and she probably called the police station ten times by now.”
“Given the situation, do you think anyone would check in on her?”
“I hope so. I’m sure one of the officers will swing by. They know she has difficulties. And if she called asking about me, maybe one of them will worry enough to go over. People are good that way. Neighborly. But that doesn't keep her from worrying about what happened to me. She already lost her daughter.”
“Your mother?”
Harper nodded. “It was a long time ago, but it's not something a parent gets over. And I know she probably won't call my sister until she knows what happened to me so that Gail doesn't worry like we did before. The worry can sometimes be the worst.”
He frowned. “Like before?”
Harper hesitated. There were memories enough being here in the cabin without her bringing in the sad memories that seemed to erase away the joy they’d shared as a family.
“My parents were on weekend getaway up here when they passed away.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thank you. It was a stupid accident, one they both knew to watch out for. I know that because they used to get after Gail and I all the time about this very same thing. And yet my mother had fallen right into that trap. Literally.”
“An animal trap?”
She shook her head. “There's a pond not far from here. It's beautiful in the spring and summer. We
